There is a living angel walking in our midst. Meet Michael Meade: author, mythologist, and storyteller extraordinaire. Gratefully, I have been blessed to experience his great work a number of times, in Ashland and also at the Beloved Festival (2009). Last week, I watched his latest video, “Voices of Veterans: A Welcome Home Ceremony”, and I was moved to tears… not just a few tears, but uncontrollable sobbing.

Why was I crying so much while watching this ten-minute video? Well, I was crying in general for all the pain and suffering created by wars; for all the men and women who endure the horrors of war and for all their families who must endure the nightmarish effects of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) after the soldiers return home. When I really tune in to all that suffering, I cannot stop crying… and in the first few minutes of the video, Michael Meade says something that strikes a really deep chord in me. He says, “We’re trying to reduce the suffering that’s inside the veterans, and we’re also trying to spread it, I’m sorry to tell you, into the community. Don’t take too much, but if everybody takes a little bit, then they have less to carry.” When I heard that, I felt as if he was talking directly to my compassionate heart.

I am happy to cry for the veterans, especially if my tears might just help relieve some of their pain… And, I wasn’t just crying in general… I was also crying because the one I love (but cannot be with) served almost a year in Vietnam, and I was crying for his pain. All of his experiences in Vietnam (at least the ones he shared with me) came rushing back into my mind, and I was overwhelmed with the desire to take that pain away and somehow make it better. Even though we are no longer in physical contact, I will always love him and I pray that someday, some way, all that war pain will release and he will experience deep, profound healing. 

I am so grateful for all the healing work that Michael Meade is doing with the veterans. Truly a living angel, he is shining light in a realm of darkness. May his work ripple out and out and out, touching the lives and hearts of all veterans everywhere. May their pain be lessened.

May all beings be healed in the Light.

Om Shanti (Peace), 

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of angel on Teja’s faux fir tree taken by Teja Shankara.

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When I googled “Turkey animal medicine” I was disappointed to read that the Turkey represents the spirit of giving and sacrificing, since it gives everything away so that others may live. Hmmm… That symbolism is quite questionable to my way of vegan thinking. I seriously doubt that all those turkeys really want to be killed so that human beings can feast on their dead bodies. Whilst allowing myself to grieve for the suffering that millions of turkeys will endure this month (in the U.S.), I’m also intending to spend some time chanting (singing) for the turkeys on Thanksgiving Day.

In my last blog article, “A Plea for Everyone in the U.S. to Consider Going Vegetarian/Vegan this Thanksgiving!” I pointed out that the meat industry contributes to about 18% of global green house emissions. With that being the case, even if people simply reduce the amount of meat they consume, that reduction will help the environment. For many people, it is difficult to give up animal products all at once, primarily because the body-mind is attached to (and also addicted to) the animal products. Thus, I am simply asking that people begin by reducing the amount of animal products that they ingest.

Why not begin with this Thanksgiving Day? There are so many delicious ways to go vegetarian or vegan on this U.S. holiday! For example, here is the vegan menu that I prepared for Thanksgiving, 2009:

~ Teriyaki tempeh: tempeh marinated in toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, agave syrup, and orange zest… then cooked in a skillet on medium heat.

~ Stuffed squash: baked winter squash stuffed with a sauté of extra virgin olive oil, onions, garlic, sunflower seeds, pecans, walnuts, dried cranberries, Himalayan krystal salt, oregano, and sage. 

~ Festive rice: brown rice and wild rice cooked together, then tossed with coconut oil, dried mint, cumin powder, dried figs, and shredded coconut.

~ Raw salad: arugula, oranges, raw ginger root, raw turmeric root, carrots, and fresh lemon juice.

~ Cooked beets.

~ Curried onion soup.

~ Cranberry sauce (out of a can, but organic!)

~ Almost raw pumpkin pie, recipe adapted from “Raw Pumpkin Pie Recipe” by The Raw Foods Witch. (Her recipe calls for raw pumpkin, but I used cooked pumpkin.)

In my soup cookbook, Love Soups: A Vegetarian Soup Cookbook Inspired by the Soup Devas, the soups are arranged by season, and a few of the Fall and Winter Soups would grace the Thanksgiving table in a lovely way… I’m thinking of Butternut Squash Soup, Coconut Spiced Yam Soup, and Harvest Moon Soup. You can read the Harvest Moon Soup recipe on the “Book Excerpts” page of this website.

Currently I am planning my vegan Thanksgiving menu for this year, so I will soon share details here on the Teja Blog. One thing that has already occurred to me is that I don’t want to make any more “stuffing” ~ no more “stuffing” bread into dead birds for this vegan yogini! Instead, I plan to create something called “Teja’s Turkey-Free Thanksgiving Vegan Delight”.

May all meat-eating human beings consider reducing their consumption of animal products.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja’s Vegan Thanksgiving (2009) by Teja Shankara. Love Soups book cover designed by Gaelyn Larrick.

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“The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white or women for men.” ~ Alice Walker

The suffering of the creatures was the primary reason I shifted to a vegan diet. I simply cannot bear the thought of causing harm to the animals, birds, fish, and bees. As Alice Walker so succinctly pointed out, they exist for their own reasons. This month I have tuned in to the suffering of the turkeys, because millions of them will die for the U.S. Thanksgiving Holiday. After seeing turkeys in the wild, and experiencing their Beauty and Majesty, I couldn’t imagine ever again eating one of our gorgeous winged relations. 

With the sorrow of the turkeys’ deaths hanging heavy in my heart, I ask everyone in the United States to please consider going vegetarian or vegan this Thanksgiving. On behalf of all those turkeys, and with concern for all the fearful energies that millions of people will ingest through the cooked dead turkey meat, I am asking everyone in the United States to please take a few moments of silence and meditate upon the lifeblood of the turkeys.

Contemplate the fear and agony the turkeys will feel as they are being killed, and ask yourselves if you really want to take in those fearful energies. Everything, everything, everything is energy. Even Oprah says so! We are all connected in one continuous web of energy. If you eat dead turkey meat, then you take in the anxious energies that the turkey experienced while dying. Please consider going vegetarian or vegan for Thanksgiving.

In my next blog article I will share some vegetarian/vegan Thanksgiving menu ideas and recipes. And, inspired by the turkeys’ plight this month, I’ve done some research and learned that the meat industry contributes to about 18% of global green house emissions. So, even if people don’t feel compassion for the creatures, they might be inspired to reduce their meat consumption in order to help the environment. Therefore, I will soon be announcing the Voices for Vegetarianism Campaign. Stay tuned…

May all beings everywhere live in Freedom and Harmony, including the turkeys in the good ‘ole U.S. of A.

Om Shanti (Peace), 

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of turkey from the blog article “Thanksgiving Turkey Bird Facts” by Sienna Hudson.

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This morning the sunlight is shining through the pine needles outside my window, as another gorgeous autumn day is dawning in Ashland. I am breathing incredible Gratitude for my new work as medical assistant at Morningstar Healing Arts. The work is very satisfying and the people are so beautiful!

And, as I am ever cultivating the witness, I am watching the amazing ability of the heart to feel immense joy and immense sorrow at the exact same time. For the sorrow, I am fortifying myself today with this photo of Mt. Shasta.

May all beings everywhere open to Healing, within and without. May the Fire of Ram burn through all the sorrows of all the creatures on this sacred planet earth.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Mt. Shasta by Teja Shankara.

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In April I posted a couple of Cultivating the Witness 101 blogs (“Watching Yourself” and “Managing Anger”) in which I described ways to practically apply the spiritual practice of Cultivating the Witness. Once you practice this skill for a while, you begin to see ways in which you can change certain habitual thoughts and reactions. So then, as you witness your thoughts, feelings, and sensations, you can also practice the art of re-framing them.

I’ll share here an example of something I have recently witnessed and then re-framed. Last week when I was visiting my Grandma, I asked her how she coped with the grief after my Grandpa died. I have heard her say this many times (my Grandpa died 17 years ago), but I wanted to hear it again. Even though others disagreed with the way she grieved, it worked for her. As she words it, “You just put it out of your mind – you put your mind on other things and stay very, very busy.” There is definitely something to be said for that attitude, especially when you consider the ancient Indian sutra: The mind becomes that which it dwells upon.

During the last day of that visit with my Grandma, I was witnessing my usual tendency to become overwhelmed with thinking of all the work I have to do when I return home. And right as I witnessed the overwhelm sensation creeping in, I thought of my Grandma’s words, and I immediately re-framed my thoughts. So after witnessing myself thinking, “When I get back to Ashland I have so much to do with launching my new business (Radiance Rising Reiki), and with relatives visiting that week, and with the boys starting school and soccer and…on and on”, I changed my thinking to: “I am so grateful for this opportunity to be very, very busy and to put that grief out of my mind.”

With so much Gratitude for the art of re-framing negative tendencies, I close today’s blog article with a wonderful quote from Be Here Now by Ram Dass: “You are being guided. In fact, the next message you need in the treasure hunt is exactly where you are when you need it. The message may be in the form of a teacher or a lover or an enemy or a pet or a rock or a chemical or a book or a feeling of great despair or a physical illness or the eyes of a person you pass on the street.” I am super grateful that the next message I needed came through my Grandma exactly where I was, sitting with her in the garden.

May all beings know Healing and Peace. 

Om Shanti (Peace), 

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja’s Grandma’s garden taken by Teja Shankara.

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Photo by Ashley Marie - CC License

On this playground of life, we get to choose how we spend our time: we can choose to run around doing things that lower our vibrations, OR we can choose to commit to regular, daily spiritual practices that raise our vibrations. Each small change that we make within ourselves then ripples out and benefits all of Creation. This year I intend to help raise the vibration of the human species, through my work as a cheerleader for spiritual practices.

Here is some recent news from the playground of my life ~

~ The biggest highlight of the past month was my transformational pilgrimage to see my Guru, Ammachi, down in Castro Valley, California. Ever since that most fabulous trip, I have been resting in a state of Gratitude. I am so grateful for the Happiness; for the internal Transformation; and for the incredible Fullness of my life now. I feel like Amma gave me back my connection to my Self. I have already written two blogs about my time with Amma (“Grief Transformed into Joy in Amma’s Field” and “Amma’s Transformation Continues: Teja is Blissing on the Sweetness After Grief”), and soon I will write more blog articles with Amma’s teachings and my reflections.

~ Since returning home ten days ago, I have really been loving my life, because it feels so full and so fun. I love my job as the barefoot bike shoppe girl; I love my boys; and I love my whole family! My first niece, Zoe Leila, was born on April 10^th in Cincinnati, Ohio, and then my second niece, Lillian Rose, was born in Ashland, Oregon on May 21^st. One day, while meditating close to Amma, I thought, “Now I have two sons and two nieces” and I felt so satisfied by the fullness of our sprouting family! 

~ This past week was especially full because my parents visited, which meant that in addition to working a lot of hours (to make up for lost time from my trip south), we enjoyed a lot of family time… which, blissfully for me, included a lot of time holding little Lily! I am so utterly thrilled to be Auntie Teja! I am absolutely in love with that little being. Each evening, while holding her, and delighting in how she loves to look out the windows, I softly sang “Om Namah Shivaya” and felt a deep sense of contentment that I hadn’t felt in a long time.

~ This winter and spring, due to much sadness over losing my best friend (the earthguy who I was in love with but couldn’t be with), I felt as though I was drowning in the murky waters of grief… but after that time with Amma, I have gotten my spark back, and I am feeling like Fiery Teja once again. One morning last week, while walking in Lithia Park with my parents, I stared in awe at the fullness of the flowing Ashland Creek, and later I reflected that I want to simultaneously be Fiery Teja AND Flowing Teja! Amma often talks about how Love flows like a river… So now I am visualizing myself as a bundle of firecrackers sparking on a raft that is flowing down a rushing river!

~ With so much Gratitude for the Fullness of Life, I wish you a Most Happy Time on the playground of planet earth.

May all beings everywhere know the Fullness of Happiness and the Bliss that arises from a Grateful Heart.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Zak, Mama Teja, and Gabe taken by Teja’s Mom; photo of Ashland Creek taken by Teja Shankara.

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This is a short note to share the gorgeous beauty on my kitchen table today. This past week has been a wild ride: I returned home from my pilgrimage to see Ammachi (in California) on June 10^th; my parents arrived to visit on June 11^th; and I went back to work at the outdoor gear shoppe on June 12^th. This past week I worked over 49 hours, while my parents were visiting! They drove away today, and although I felt sad to see them go, I have to admit I am enjoying this quiet time to myself! With the boys at Papa’s house, I now have a little time for reflecting… while I catch up on dishes, laundry, bills, and shopping!

Here’s my little reflection for today: after being away from Amma for ten days now, I am amazed at how the transformation is not only lasting, but it is deepening and ever-unfolding. I asked Amma to help me release the attachment to the earthguy, and to help me find acceptance and peace… And Amma has given me all of that, and so much more! I am experiencing what Rumi called “the sweetness that comes after grief.” I feel so in love with everyone and everything!

Well, now I’m off to take a barefoot walk in the sunshine…

May all beings everywhere find Acceptance of What IS… and may that Acceptance lead to an experience of inner bliss! 

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of gorgeous roses on kitchen table by Teja Shankara.

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On June 1^st I drove down to Castro Valley, California to see my beloved Guru Ammachi, who is popularly known as the “hugging saint” from India. During the drive, I was feeling distraught and overwhelmed by the on-going grief over the earthguy who I long for but cannot be with… so when I went up to Amma for the first darshan (her embrace), I gave her a letter in which I asked for her help in releasing the attachment and finding acceptance and peace. So many transformational things happened during that week with Amma, and I will write about them in a series of blog articles. In today’s article I’m focusing on why I look so happy in this photo taken of me on that sacred land at Amma’s ashram.

Each evening there was a program with a talk, bhajans (devotional songs), and a guided meditation. The first evening, one of Amma’s devotees gave the talk. He said that in India everything is considered to be God: all of Nature is seen as Divine, so plants and trees are worshipped at sunrise and even the buildings are seen as God. He explained that Indian culture is based on the principle that the Creator and the creation are not two. Then he said – and this is what really touched my heart – that rather than being in love with just one person out of seven billion persons, Amma is in love with the entire Universe: past, present, and future. The fullness of Amma’s Love is what makes her Shine. He then said that when we get fed up with the current state of our minds, then we start trying to transform ourselves and be like Amma.

That talk affected me so deeply that the next day I felt my smile rising again, and I felt so happy to be smiling so much at all of the beautiful beings around me. In this photo I see that Amma’s shine was radiating through me, transforming the grief into joy.

I bow down to Ammachi, with Gratitude for all of her blessings. 

May all beings know Peace and Happiness. 

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Happy Teja in Amma’s Field by Teja Shankara.

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last night i felt the way our soul frequencies
are vibrating in a pattern of union —
i knew the rightness
of our togetherness
and grieved the separation

this morning i looked at bright orange poppies
pelted by rain
and knew the same:
i am a bright orange poppy,
my Beauty and Life Energy
pelted by the torrential rain
of my tears —
Sigh.

May all beings know Peace and Happiness. 

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of poppies pelted by rain taken by Teja Shankara.

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This is a morning of Gratitude. I am feeling grateful for so many things: this cup of hot vegan chai tea with maple syrup, the candles burning on my desk, the snow falling off the trees outside, and the thick wool sweater that is keeping me warm.

This is also a morning of Grief. I am feeling sorrow for so many things: the nearly one billion people who are starving on this earth, the lonely people everywhere, the neglected children, the polluted waters, and the karma that won’t yet allow me to release the man who I cannot be with, but still long to be near.

I could go on and on and on with much longer lists of my Gratitudes and Griefs this morning. It’s just one of those days in which I’m seeing a glimpse of how different polarities can simultaneously be true. Resting in that awareness, I feel a strange contentment with it all.

May all beings know the Peace and Self-Love that arises through Cultivating the Witness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

See me live talking about Peace (interviewed by Yogi Pete, August 2009): Yogini-Bliss on YouTube

Photo of Divine Mother on snow day by Teja Shankara.

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